I managed to get this figure early for a bit over retail, but not the ridiculous prices that've been on eBay as of late.


So right off the bat, is it worth it for the $55 they want? And my answer is it’s in the eyes of the beholder. My opinion has changed getting it in hand, and I think yes. But I can understand why people would be put off by the price. 10-20 years ago I could maybe see this falling into an ultra class in between the modern voyager and leader price points, but I digress. Let’s get into the figure itself.


Design:

Now one of the first and most common complaints I saw about this figure and design as a whole, was that it lacks color and is boring. I thought the same.


However, in hand, this figure really has a great shelf presence and while not colorful, has great molded detailing. The asymmetric design is a welcome addition, and HasTak went to great lengths to capture that on this figure. There’s too many to point out, but in hand you’ll begin to pick up on these either major or subtle changes on parts you would think would be the same. The head is also well designed and picked out in a nice silver.


Deco:

The deco primarily consists of gunmetal with silver highlights here and there. There is also use of this “sandy” color used to add scratches and pick out the chains around his body, and it works just fine. Transparent orange plastic is also used, though primarily is only seen in truck mode, but this figure does have great light piping.


Articulation:

Not much to say here. It’s all pretty standard. Head is attached via two ball joints, though it is a bit hampered by the neck armor. Waist swivel, ankles go forward and back, and the knees are on a nice ratchet joint. The only area I think this figure is lacking in is wrist articulation. For the right hand I somewhat understand due to the blade’s attachment, though I wish the claw was able to rotate like we saw in the trailer.


Accessories:

The figure comes with three accessories, and the first I’ll discuss in the blade. Now it isn’t meant to be detached (and why would you, it looks great), but it has some great molded detailing (cracks and wear) that really adds to it. It can be swung around and clipped into the hand to be held by Scourge, and the articulated fingers are able to be closed around it. Next up is the claw. I was weary of it prior to getting it in hand due to it being reporte that the “fingers” would be rubber (see misc. below). Suffice to say I have no more worries about it. It’s built well, and the fingers are not already warped out of the box like I thought. The “fingers” are meant to be asymmetrical as well, with some being more extended or closed that the others, and this plays into vehicle mode later on. Unfortunately I couldn’t get him to hold Bumblebee. Not impossible, but very difficult due to the should joint and somewhat flexible nature of the claw. He also comes with a blaster cannon. Nothing special. This movie seems to have a thing for that type of transformable arm cannon.


Misc:

Here’s a couple of things I didn’t know where to put with regards to robot mode. The figure does use “soft plastic” for the claw, grill, and neck armor. But it’s not like the egregious rubber material they used on DOTM Shockwave a few years back. It’s much stronger, and more like SS Jolt’s whips, so it won’t lose it shape or be warped unless you’re trying. Also, the head is separate from the neck, so I tried attacking the head directly to the body to be more accurate to what we’ve seen, and unfortunately it’s not possible without modding. The socket on the head is too big for the ball joint on the body, and even still the head would have to look up as the chin is too long to sit properly on the body.


Transformation:

Not too complex, and it is quite enjoyable. However, for those of you who saw PrimevsPrime’s review, you may know of one serious flaw in the design that presents itself in transformation: clear plastic and not enough clearance.


The transformation goes well until you get to transforming the backpack. This entire assembly becomes the roof of the truck, and it’s side door panels. These flip out on friction hinges that are hexagonal in shape. In PvP’s review the center hinge caused the surrounding clear plastic to snap. On my copy, it caused the surrounding plastic on one of the side doors to snap. And it’s not just stress marks, no. The plastic cracks in half, and you will hear it, and the brittleness of this plastic does not help. Now the assembly isn’t completely compromised because it’s connected to the roof; however, this issue is not going to be uncommon, and is very concerning both in terms of QC and the longevity of this figure after multiple transformations. This is a serious QC oversight that should have been noticed and corrected during development. The unfortunate aspect is at a Leader price point, this could have been rectified with a simple adjustment: this figure did not need the entire cab assembly to be clear plastic. Sure it looks cool but it’s hardly noticeable and necessary except in the windows. Simple inserts like they did with Battletrap and Bumblebee, at lowers price points, should have been done to avoid this altogether. It’s really unfortunate as aside from this fatal design flaw, it’s a fun toy. The best I can recommend is that the hinges be shaved down, but even then I’m not sure what the cause is, such as too much paint that thickens the joint, or the pin being slightly off during assembly.


Truck mode:

Aside from the claw and hand sticking out the back, the truck mode looks great. Pretty ingenious how they utilized the gun to give more detail to the back of the vehicle. The detailing is great, especially the faction symbols that were individuals sculpted onto the grill. Overall really accurate and awesome looking, just wish that it wasn’t a bit scary to actually get to this mode due to the reason mentioned above.


Final Thoughts:

The value of this figure is going to be really subjective. I personally like it and would recommend it as a day 1 pickup. But I totally understand why people would either wait for a sale or are put off by the price point as a whole. The figure would be a 9/10 for me, but the clear plastic breaking on a simple transformation step brings it down to a 7/10. It’s completely unacceptable when there are multiple ways this could’ve been avoided. Yes, we as collectors can probably fix it, but 1. This shouldn’t need fixing, and 2. The kids who will be the majority of the purchases are going to be disappointed when their new toy breaks even though they were just following the instructions.


I didn’t think this needed to be stated, but QC and durability are important, even if it means something can’t look as “cool”.


Overview:

Pros

• accessories
• Painted and sculpted detailing
• Great light piping
• Great articulation
• Has a great shelf presence in both modes

Cons

• Head may be inaccurate to final film
• Majority of truck can is constructed of clear plastic that is susceptible to breakage due to inherent design flaws

If y’all have any questions or requests (comparison, pose, etc.) with the figure, I will do my best to answer/accommodate.


Side note: I’ll add more pictures tomorrow morning. Don’t have the time as of my posting, but I’ll be sure to update the posts with some truck and comparison images.

New Photos added. Sorry for the delay.
Comparisons:
Wanted to give a variety of shots. Went with the most recent movie leader, most common movie leader, a generic bay carbot as those tend to be slightly bigger than the BB bots, and Prime and Bee from the last movie. Also showed him next to the ROTB figures I currently have.


Vehicle Mode:


Misc:



Breakage:

 

Thanks for the heads up, can you take a picture of the breakage?

 

Heres the picture I took when it happened. You can see the crack on the right side next to the light on top.

I’ll try and get more pictures when I get home in a bit.

 

Damn. No. Just no. 55 bucks was pushing it. And now with a literal fatal flaw by just transforming it?

The thing cracking and breaking? Nope. I'll wait until a 2nd production run is made fixing the flaw (IF it happens) and it goes on sale.

Sorry. 55 bucks for a broken out of the box Voyagerish figure is a no go.

 

As much as I REALLY like this figure I already have Legacy Velocitron Scourge who can fill his part just as well.

 

Yea this figure looks fucking phenomenal but I just personally refuse to pay nearly $60 and it's preordained to fall apart with its current Qc issue.

 

Great review that raises some very important concerns about the figure. This should get fixed in later releases asap.

 

His t-shirt has a VERY vulgar phrase...

 

Thanks, is there anything keeping those pieces in place despite the crack? Also does the hinge swivel a lot more loosely now?

 

Would Hasbro even do that?

 

I just got mine today, but after hearing the back panel can easily break, I’m afraid of transforming him.

 

I hate to be negative but expect disappointment and you won't be disappointed...

 

No, mine was much more reasonable

 

Lol nuff said then

 

All these early ones are stolen samples. Maybe the official release has this fixed?

 

You know, I really hate it when some point out these are stolen figures. Some of us are just glad we have them early, but saying that kind of ruins it or makes some like myself feel guilty. We don't need any of those.